OU TORAH ONE+ONE JUDGES 18:30 By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

The children of Dan set up the idol and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Menashe, he and his sons served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the day they were exiled from the land. The priest of this idol was a Levite named Jonathan, whose father was named Gershom and whose grandfather was ostensibly named Menashe. The letter “nun” in the name Menashe, however, is written suspended above the line. Rashi cites the Talmud in Baba Basra (109b) that Jonathan was actually the son of Gershom, the son of Moshe. Out of respect for Moshe, the letter nun was partially inserted so that his name should be read as if it were Menashe. It was not fully inserted, however, so that Tanach should not conceal the truth of the matter.